We’ve returned from Domain Roundtable!
And not a moment too soon! We’ve had so much fun that we are simply exhausted.
Dan and I had never been to San Fran before, so it was definitely a great experience from a traveling perspective. The first day we got there we decided to walk around the city and then hop on the cable cars to visit Fisherman’s Wharf. From there, Dan Kimball, “Fabulous” Mike Robertson, David Harry and I rented some bikes and rode over the Golden Gate Bridge and then into Sausalito where we took a ferry back to San Fran. On the boat ride back we were able to see Alcatraz and look back on the Golden Gate Bridge. It was an awesome experience.
On Saturday, DRT opened up and we had the opportunity to meet with old friends and begin business as usual. Because of meetings we were delayed in getting to the “formal” show, but ended up making the Name Intelligence dinner and the Grassroots.org poker party. Many different people and organizations donated prizes for the Grassroots.org shindig. The poker theme for the party was a huge hit. Everyone was dancing, laughing, and relaxing while helping out a great cause.
On Sunday we attended the .ME launch. Lots of TLDs have been introduced, but my initial (and ongoing) opinion is that this ccTLD is going to be very successful. From the impression that I got from the other people I spoke with at my table during lunch, many people are looking at this with the same mindset. What I gathered from the launch of .ME is that it is going to be the “personal” domain of choice for those looking to brand themselves (I.E. seanstafford.me would be everything about me). On May 6th .ME opens for registration to trademark applicants and June 6th begins the general registration of .MEs to the public at large. Like other recent TLDs, .ME will be selling some of the most choice domains via auction. The auction is expected to begin in September of 2008.
After lunch, I had the opportunity to sit in on a great panel about law and domains. The “Updating your legal mind” panelists were Paul McGrady, Greenburg Traurig, Karen Bernstein, Jeremiah Johnston, and John Berryhill. Because of the Snowe bill and other things taking shape in our industry, I thought it would be a good panel to sit in on. Apparently, most of my colleagues thought the same as the room had a really good turnout.
The next panel of the day, “Advanced Domain Valuation,” I was honored to moderate. Strangely enough, I am good friends with everyone on the panel so it made for a very exciting discussion. The panelists were Adam Strong (DomainConsultant.com), Lucas Ehrbar (NameDrive.com), Jay Finnan (Sedo.com), and John Tompkins (Trellian.com). Each has their own way of coming up with domain prices and metrics for evaluations. It’s also interesting to note that each of these players have different domain selling strategies. While Adam Strong is an independent domainer, Sedo is in the business of flipping names. Each of them has different ways of putting a value on domains since each targets different areas of thought in domaining. To sum it up, these four guys made up a powerhouse of knowledge and I was glad to be a part of it.
The next panel was “Portfolio Management.” For this panel I swapped out the moderator role to be a panelist. The other panelists were Dan Warner (Fabulous.com), Jay Finnan (Sedo.com), Jamie MacMillian (LinkShare.com), and then me. Dan Warner brought up some interesting points about managing a portfolio via knowing what to keep and knowing what to sell. He has formulated an equation that comes down to sheer math as to whether a domain is worth keeping or not. I found this strategy quite interesting, and though I don’t agree on all points, I think this is the first time I have ever heard of a completely mathematical formula that sets a baseline for selling domains. Kudos to Dan on that one. Finally, this was my first time meeting Jamie. Jamie really understands the CPA model and that became evident during his panel presentation. If anyone has questions about CPA, get a hold of LinkShare and ask for Jamie. He is a great source of knowledge.
That evening I spent some time getting caught up with my old friends from NameDrive. As a partner, NameDrive is top notch and an excellent PPC provider. As individuals, they are wonderful people who I have the greatest of respect for. On behalf of Dan and myself, thank you to everyone at NameDrive for a wonderful evening!
The last day we spent our time checking out the auction and also following up with everyone before we left on our red-eye back to Louisville. Although we had a great time, it was nice to get back home.
As always, we want to throw out a big “thank you” to our Aussie friends for the poker room. You guys rock!
Lastly, Sahar put together a ton of great pictures from the show (with captions) on his blog. Take a look here at some of the daily highlights:
http://www.conceptualist.com/2008/04/24/domain-roundtable-pictures/
In a few weeks time we will be doing everything all over again when we visit Orlando for T.R.A.F.F.I.C East.
If you plan on going, drop us a line!
[Site Map]
“Dan Warner brought up some interesting points about managing a portfolio via knowing what to keep and knowing what to sell. He has formulated an equation that comes down to sheer math as to whether a domain is worth keeping or not.”
Interested to read the magic formula, so if you can share…
[…] Talk to the author know. […]
I have passed through San Fran many times, but always on business with little time for fun. I am now back in Ohio for the time being, but lived In Portland Oregon for 6 years. Your pictures make me yearn for the West Coasts awesome beauty.
I have been following with great interest your Bido concept, which I absolutely love. I am no fan of Registrar auction houses and have shunned them for many years. Good luck I think your timing is superb. Gratefully, Jeff Schneider
Jeff,
Thanks for your comments… We actually planned to attend adtech event and traveled to SF a day early. They shut down the exhibit hall early so we got a full day of sightseeing.
Bido is coming really soon.. Expect an announcement next week!!!
As always it was great catching up with the DNZoom cats! See you guys in Orlando!
It is always fun to catch up with you guys and take your money!! Seriously, we appreciate your friendship and its worth the 16hr flight from ‘down under’ :-)